The 1999 vintage for French red Burgundy wines is proving to be a good one,
despite difficult conditions for growers.

The humid summer brought possible mildew problems and the warm temperatures
helped provide a bountiful crop. We understand many growers thinned their
crops to help assure ripe, mature fruit.

We assembled a flight of wines of "Grand Cru" status from the
Gevrey-Chambertin area and found a bunch of very nice bottles.

One wine was well ahead of the pack and one was a laggard.

Here's what we found:

THE WINES

Gerald's Rank

Ellen's Rank

GROUP RANK

Total Points

1sts/2nds
Lasts

CHARLOPIN-PARIZOTCharmes-Chambertin
$135

1

1

1

24

8/1/1

PIERRE
DAMOYChambertin
Clos de Bze
$112

8

6

5

55

1/4/3

DUJACCharmes-Chambertin
$150

4

3

2

48

1/1/0

FAIVELEYChambertin
Clos de Bze
$150

3

8

7

68

0/0/2

VINCENT
GIRARDINChambertin
Clos de Bze
$137

5

5

3

49

1/0/0

VINCENT
GIRARDINLatricieres-Chambertin
$75

6

7

6

61

0/1/0

ARMAND
ROUSSEAUCharmes-Chambertin
$125

7

4

8

74

1/1/5

TRAPETChambertin
$136

2

2

4

53

0/4/1

8th Place: ARMAND ROUSSEAU 1999 CHARMES-CHAMBERTINOne
sarcastic critic likened this wine to "Kool-Aid," while another
characterized it as a "light, simple, pleasant wine that's a good
twenty-dollar California Pinot Noir. It's a bit floral and
light." One wag guessed this as the entry from Faiveley since their
wines often are viewed as under-achievers by this taster. Another taster
found notes reminiscent of "Muscadine grapes, with under currents of citrus
and some herbal notes on the finish." Someone else encountered
"grapefruit-like notes...it's sour and shows under-ripe fruit
elements." A final critic found "Cranberry, cherry and
strawberry overtones."
I detected a nice cherryish nose with a faint note of forest-floor scents.
It has a touch of wood. I thought the flavors were good, showing a touch
of vanillin and some sweet cherry fruit. I summarized this as "Nice
Pinot Noir, Nice Burgundy." I will say it's not as "grand"
as it ought to be, but it's good. I'm giving it a one star rating on my
three star scale, zero stars being standard quality.

7th Place: FAIVELEY 1999 CHAMBERTIN "CLOS DE BZE""This
shows aromas of clay and cherries with a simple, lively cherry flavor and a hint
of truffles and mushrooms" said one panel member. Someone else found
"Cherries, cherries and more cherries! It's candyish and
tannic." A third taster characterized this as a "Generic red
wine...not a lot of Burgundian notes here, with a woodsy, oaky character and
it's got a very short finish." A final word from someone:
"Bitter."
I described this as an "elegant" wine, as it has lots of cherry aromas
and a touch of vanillin from the oak. It seemed as though this may be
cellared for a number of years, too, as it's got a leathery, tannic texture on
the palate. I'd hold it for 5-10 years. One-and-a-half stars (one of
the highest ratings I've given to a Faiveley Burgundy).

6th Place: VINCENT GIRARDIN 1999 LATRICIERES-CHAMBERTIN"This is distinctive, showing truffle and herbal notes, some wet earth
and berry fruit." said one taster. Another was less enthusiastic,
having encountered a note of H2S at the
start, adding "it' had ripe cherry fruit at the start but ended up being
rather thin." Someone else found "a lot of complexity and good
mouth-feel." Another person felt this has "ripe fruit,"
while a final critic found "candied red fruit and it's simple and
light."
I felt this had a sour cherry fragrance and the nose was "very quiet"
and shy. It's got some of those candied notes others were finding and a
sweet, ripe berry character, too. There's a bit of mouth-drying tannin
here, suggesting it may blossom with 5-8 years of cellaring. One star.

5th Place: PIERRE DAMOY CHAMBERTIN "CLOS DE
BZE""This
is light and delicate, with plums and smoke, but it fell flat on the
finish." said one critic. Another was in agreement, saying "It
fell apart, having virtually no structure." Someone else found
"A sweet nose of tantalizing caramel, with sweet, jammy notes and nice
acidity." A fourth critic detected "hints of mushrooms, with
light fruit, medium tannins and nice complexity. It's full-bodied and
shows an orange spice and smoky character." A final critic said
"This started slowly, with some dried tangerine peel...nice
balance...full-bodied with sweet oak and ripe cherries."
I was enchanted by the nose of this, finding cherry fruit and hints of cinnamon
and vanilla bean. But the wine was rather shallow on the palate, not
having much depth. It didn't deliver on the promise I found in the
fragrance here. Perhaps a half-star rating.

4th Place: TRAPET 1999 CHAMBERTIN"This shows notes of wild, black raspberry, some tarry elements and
cloves in the middle with an overly herbaceous finish." said one
critic. Less enthusiastic was a panel member who found this to be
"lean, astringent, under-ripe fruit with high acidity...it's got smoky
notes and strawberries and plums, with plenty of acidity and a wall of
tannin." Someone else felt this is a good candidate for cellaring,
saying "it will age well...it's young and a bit green now." A
detractor found "Pine forest spice notes, but no 'pretty' Pinot Noir
character. It's more green and leafy with a sour quality."
I described this as a "Cabernet-styled" wine. It's smoky on the
nose, with some woodsy notes. There's a gamey and somewhat herbal tone
here, too, but intensely Burgundian to me. Through the moderate level of
tannin, there seem to be layers of flavors with vanillin, woodsy, herbal,
slightly gamey notes present. This may go 8-15 years in the cellar.
One-and-a-half to two stars.

3rd Place: VINCENT GIRARDIN 1999 CHAMBERTIN CLOS DE BZE""This
shows silky, flavorful, red fruit notes with spice and smoke along with a tarry,
buttery character and an oak-like finish." said one critic. Another
taster found "forest floor notes and plummy fruit, with minty overtones,
but it's light on the palate and has a short finish." Agreeing, a
third taster said "This is short, austere and closed, but I think,
eventually, it will open." Someone else found it to be
"light," while a final critic knocked its "short finish which is
its biggest weakness."
The first aromas are berry and cherry fruits with a touch of oak. As it
sits, the wine seemed to take on a slightly 'sharp' character, along with
showing a mildly smoky note. It turned into a fragrance reminiscent of
cocoa and, then, pencil shavings. This has a nice texture, showing berry
fruit and light wood. It's rather 'fine' on the palate. Short-term
aging is okay here. One star wine.

2nd Place: DOMAINE DUJAC 1999 CHARMES-CHAMBERTINOne
taster found a "leafy note with Asian spices, some strawberry fruit and
more earthy tones. It's a lovely wine!" One taster
characterized this as a good example of "terroir," adding "it's a
bit earthy. I loved it! I ranked it third!" Someone found
"Barnyard notes and it's fruity and vibrant, with raspberry, strawberry
fruit and some smoke and vanilla on the finish." One critic enjoyed
the fragrance, saying "It's got a great nose, but it's short...now,
however, it's much better." Another critic found notes of
"cherry cobbler and it's full with a high level of tannin."
Meanwhile, disagreeing with the purity of its "terroir," one person
said "This could easily be a Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir, but it's not
Burgundy."
This is a very showy Pinot Noir! The nose is terrific, displaying lots of
really ripe, sweet strawberry aromas. There's a hint of a woodsy note and
a touch of spice evident here, too. The bright strawberry character shines
on the palate, but I'd be hard-pressed to identify this as coming from
Burgundy. It's marvelous Pinot, however. One star, plus.

1st Place: CHARLOPIN-PARIZOT 1999 CHARMES-CHAMBERTINDescribed by one taster as "Blackberry in fruit character, this has
lots of toasted oak, mocha notes, some tar and it's big and full."
Someone else found this to be "big, forward, powerful and
intense." One taster found it to be "slightly shrill and it's
got a hotness from the alcohol, but I still like this a lot! It's a
'takes-no-prisoners' style of wine." Another detected "rose
petal notes and Asian spices with rather aggressive oak tannins."
Someone else found it "has a high level of energy."
I found lots of earth and spice notes with an Oriental spice character, along
with a touch of cassis fruit, herbs and a bit of beet root. The same
elements come through on the palate, the wine being fairly deep. It's a
nice, round Pinot Noir with berries and vanilla. Two stars+.

Please note: The wines tasted are not always wines
we have (or have had) in the shop.
Many bottles are merely for our enological exploration.
Price quoted are current at the time of the tasting, but may be different
when you're reading this.

WE HAVE NOT ORGANIZED A TASTING IN A WHILE...
BUT WE DO POST THE RESULTS OF A PRIVATE TASTING GROUP THAT'S BEEN MEETING FOR
MORE THAN 40 YEARS!

We are working on
organizing some blind-tastings at the shop.
Send us a note to indicate your interest in participating.
These would be on Wednesday evenings and you'd need to bring 8 wine glasses.